William Campbell and Annie Miller Slater

Most of the information on this page is taken from a booklet entitled From North to South: a Campbell Story, by Paul Campbell.

William Campbell was born on 13/3/1811 at Halkirk, Caithness, his parents being William Campbell and Elizabeth Horne. Annie Miller Slater was the daughter of James Slatter and Elizabeth Muir, born in Lady Parish, Sanday, Orkney, on 25/12/1818. William and Annie were married in St Magnus Kirk, Kirkwall, on 6/9/1838, and on 9/11/1838 they left Liverpool on board the Fairfield, heading for South Australia. (See the passenger list.)

Annie's baptism record gives only the forename "Ann" (see http://www.cursiter.com/txt-exe-files/Slater.txt or the I.G.I.) but family and other records, such as the passenger list referenced above, show that she used the names "Annie Miller". It is a strange coincidence that there was a Margaret Miller Slater baptized in Sanday in April 1815 and a John Miller Slater baptized in Sanday in February 1819; these were the children of a couple named James Slater and Barbara Miller. Superficially it might seem plausible that our Annie was another daughter of this couple. In fact they did have a daughter named Ann, but she was born in 1830, and we know that Annie Miller Campbell was 81 when she died in 1900. On the other hand, the theory that Annie's parents were James Slater and Elizabeth Muir fits perfectly with everything known about her. For example, one great-great-grand-daughter remembers being told by her father that his father's birthday and his father's grandmother's birthday were both Christmas Day. The matter of Annie's second name remains a minor mystery. Perhaps "Miller" was the maiden name of one of her grandmothers.

I have not seen any photograph of William Campbell, but From North to South has a picture of Annie, shown here at the right. She does not look very happy. But she looks decidedly grumpy in the photograph shown below, which has been copied from page 122 of the book An Orkney Saga – Slaters to South Australia (M. M. Crouch and S. Tarburton, 1994, ISBN 0 646 18418 0). The caption in the book reads "Four generations c 1889: Elizabeth Slater, Amy Slater, Will Slater & Elizabeth's mother Annie Campbell (née Slater)". I suppose that Will Slater is the William Campbell Slater who died in October 1950, aged 83. Presumably he was Elizabeth's eldest son, since she was married in 1865.

At the time that William and Annie arrived in South Australia jobs were easy to obtain. It is probable that William initially worked as a farm labourer. At the time of the 1841 census of South Australia, William and Annie and their baby daughter Elizabeth were living at Albert Town (now called Alberton). A directory for the year 1844 lists William Campbell as a cultivator in a region known as Tam O'Shanter Belt. William had 6 cattle, 3 pigs and 5 goats, as well as 12 acres of wheat. By 1850 William had moved a short distance and was a tenant of the South Australian Company, farming land between Port Road, Torrens Road and Kilkenny Road (present day Woodville). He had about 120 acres at this time, mostly growing wheat.

In 1856 William purchased 409 acres of land in the hundred of Mudla Wirra, county of Gawler, for £801. This was evidently more money than he had, since he borrowed £300 in 1855 and a further £200 in 1857, at an interest rate 12½%, the lender being Henry Ayres (later Sir Henry Ayres). William remained as the tenant of the Port Road land until 1858. It seems likely that Robert Slater (son of William Slater) managed the Port Road farm while William worked to clear the land and establish a farm at the Mudla Wirra property (near Roseworthy, a few kilometres north of Gawler). He named his new farm Quindoo, a word he heard from the aborigines who watched him work; it is said to mean "big house on high windy ground", though that is a lot of meaning for one word! In 1859 the tenancy of the Port Road farm passed to Robert Slater and one James Appleby, who had married Robert's sister Elizabeth. Annie Campbell and the children moved to Quindoo in 1858. Later, Robert Slater and his parents moved to Roseworthy, and Robert married Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of William and Annie, at Quindoo on 16/2/1865.

The other Robert Slater, Annie Campbell's brother, was also farming land at Woodville, and no doubt helped his sister while her husband was establishing the Roseworthy farm. He remained at Woodville until at least 1874; his wife, Margaret, died there in 1866. His sons Angus and Robert had moved to the Millicent area, and Robert joined them some time after 1874. He is buried at Beachport, as also are Angus and Robert.

William Campbell died on 27/8/1862. The site of his grave is not known; he was probably buried on his own property. It is unclear what was the cause of death; the death certificate says "Spasms". According to one of his descendants he died of appendicitis, but if that were known to be true then surely the death certificate would have said so.

By the time of William's death a house had been built at Quindoo, and probably there were other buildings and some stock as well, which would have increased the value of the property beyong the original price of £801. However, the Letters of Administration of his estate say that the value of the goods and chattels of William Campbell did not exceed £500. Moreover, his debt to Henry Ayres had increased to £758.15.4.

The debt was discharged by Annie's brother Robert on 20/11/1862, making him the owner of the property. He sold it immediately (on 1/12/1862) to his namesake – the Robert who later married Elizabeth Campbell – for £800.

William and Annie Campbell had the following children:

• Elizabeth (b. 1840, d. 18/11/1903), married Robert Slater;
• Annie (b. 13/4/1842, d. 19/8/1921), married James Cumming Foulis (Roseworthy 24/9/1872);
• Janet (b. 15/6/1844, d. 10/8/1925), married Henry French (Roseworthy 8/4/1868);
• Mary (b. 27/9/1846, d. 18/8/1893), married Thomas Lawson (Roseworthy 25/8/1870);
• Jemima (b. 22/12/1848, d. 6/9/1933), unmarried;
• William Horne (b. 28/4/1851, d. 30/10/1930), married Selina Smith (Laura, 30/8/1876);
• Catherine (b. 22/8/1854, d. 23/4/1934), married James Speers (Laura, 5/7/1876);
• James (b. 1856, d. 2/10/1942), married Mary Louisa Smith (Laura, 23/7/1880);
• Margaret (d. 18/1/1856, aged 6 months);
• Emily Grace (b.14/1/1860, d. 14/9/1934), married Henry Gottlieb Walter (Laura 27/7/1881);
• Agnes Petina (b. 18/1/1863, d. 14/12/1939), unmarried;

In 1872 the Campbell and Slater families left Roseworthy. The brothers William Horne and James Campbell, as well as their brother-in-law Robert Slater and his brothers, all took up land near Laura, in the Hundred of Booyoolie. Sections 214 and 215 were registered to William Horne Campbell and Section 209 to Robert Slater.

It is not clear whether Annie and her four unmarried daughters lived on the new farm with William Horne and James or lived in the township of Laura. Her obituary in The Laura Standard says, in part "in October 1872, Mrs Campbell removed with her family to Laura, carrying on farming for a time in the Hundred of Booyoolie, and then came to reside in the town". Certainly by the early 1880's Annie had her own house in North Laura. By 1882 all the daughters who did marry were married. The youngest daughter, Agnes, lived with Annie until Annie's death in 1900. By that time the other unmarried daughter, Jemima, had moved to Sydney.

Annie Miller Campbell died at Laura on 17/12/1900. The Laura Cemetery record is available on-line, and her gravestone is shown. (The inscription on the base reads "Her children arise up and call her blessed". This is a biblical quote (Proverbs 31:28).)

In 1878 Robert Slater gave up farming and moved to Port Pirie. James Campbell took over Section 209, and at the same time Sections 214 and 215 were transferred from William Horne to James. James sold Section 209 shortly before his marriage to Louisa (as she was known) in 1880. At about the same time Sections 214 and 215 were registered in the joint names of James and William Horne. However, William Horne gave up farming and obtained a clerical job in 1881. James remained on the farm until at least 1882, when the farm was sold. Apparently James remained there as manager for a while after that. Later James lived for a time in Port Pirie, and in Queensland in the Maryborough district. By 1921 he was living in the Sydney suburb of Rhodes. When his wife Louisa died on 5/1/1930 their address was 21 Llewellyn Street Rhodes. Louisa is buried in the Field of Mars cemetery, Ryde. Subsequently James moved back to South Australia and lived in Adelaide with his sister Agnes. Both James and Agnes are buried in the Magill Cemetery (Plot 370 Avenue D); the cemetery records for James and Agnes are accessible on-line.

James and Louisa had no children. Louisa was the sister of Selina Smith, who married James' brother William Horne. For more about William Horne Campbell and Selina Smith (my mother's mother's parents) see their page.

There is an account of the lives of Robert Slater and Elizabeth Campbell in Marjorie Crouch's book An Orkney Saga: Slaters to South Australia. I know that they had eight children and that they are both buried at Port Pirie. In fact their cemetery records are available on-line; Robert's states that he was buried on 25/11/1897, and Elzabeth's that she was buried on 19/11/1903. There are also Port Pirie cemetery records for the following Slaters who are presumably either descendants or wives of descendants of Robert and Elizabeth: William Campbell Slater, Rose Augusta Slater, Edith Annie Slater, Emily A. Slater, Annie I. Slater, K. E. Slater, Katherine Slater, Ronald Campbell Slater,

James Cumming Foulis, who married Annie the younger, was born on 24/10/1841 at Kirkwall, his parents being John Foulis and Janet Slater. Whether or not this Janet Slater was closely related to the other Slaters in this story I do not know; my guess is that she was not. According to Janette Thomson in a message left in the Orkney Genealogy Guestbook both James and his father John were both captains – of what she does not say – and James died in Cairns in 1920. Annie is buried in the Waverley cemetery, Sydney, General Section 9, Plots 1557 and 1558, next to her uncle Peter Campbell (also a mariner), sister Jemima Campbell, and cousin John J. Campbell (a son of Alexander Campbell, brother of Peter and William). James and Annie had six children. I believe that Janette Thomson has compiled a detailed account of the Foulis family.

Henry French was the son of Isaac French and Elizabeth Domeney. Henry and Janet had eight children, but I do not know any more details. Janet died at Magill, an Adelaide suburb.

Thomas Lawson and Mary Campbell had seven children who survived into adulthood and two who died in infancy. Mary is buried in the Laura Cemetery (see the on-line cemetery record), as also are the infant daughters. Mary's grave is unmarked, but next to her mother's.

Jemima Campbell went to Sydney and kept house for her bachelor uncle Peter, at 56 Prospect Road Summer Hill, for many years. When she went to Sydney is unknown, but it was before the death of her mother in 1900. As mentioned above, she is buried in the Waverley Cemetery, along with her sister Annie, uncle Peter and cousin John J. Campbell (son of Alexander Campbell).

James Speers and Catherine Campbell had seven children, but I know no details. From North to South: a Campbell Story says that Catherine is buried at Laura, but there are Magill Cemetery records for James Speers and Catherine Speers, who appear to be the right people. The Laura Cemetery has records for Andrew and Margaret Speers, who I presume were James' parents.

Henry Gottlieb Walter and Emily Grace Campbell had four children, named Arthur Ross (b. 10/5/1882), Effie Ernestine (26/11/1884–19/2/1914, married Herb Blesing, buried at Laura), Leonard Campbell (17/11/1887–4/4/1963, buried at Laura) and Eric James (26/8/1891–1955). There is an Emily Grace Campbell web page that links to other pages with information about her husband's relatives. Henry was born on 10/12/1854 at Hamilton, South Australia, and died on 15/5/1922. He is buried in the Magill cemetery in Plot 214, as also are Emily and two other Walters: Harold Ross Walter (died 24/9/1919 aged 11) and Florence Annie Walter (died 27/5/1934 aged 57). This Florence was a daughter of Henry's brother Johannes Paules Walter.